Summary Bullets:

• e& Carrier and Wholesale (C&WS) will expand global reach by establishing two new hubs in Miami, Florida (US) and Johannesburg (South Africa), while strengthening existing operations in London (England) and Singapore.
• The expansion will enable e& C&WS to support international partners while forging new alliances and unlocking new opportunities across the Americas and Africa.

E& C&WS, the international wholesale arm of e&, has cemented its position as a major global connectivity provider and will expand its international presence as part of its global expansion strategy. The carrier will establish two new strategic hubs in Miami and Johannesburg while strengthening its existing European and Asia-Pacific hubs located in London and Singapore. The carrier looking to expand its presence across high-growth regions within the Americas and Africa. While this is a bold move by e&, can it be successful in an already crowded and hyper-competitive global market?

As part of e&’s overarching strategy, e& C&WS continues to update its product portfolio to meet the demands for the AI, cloud, and edge computing era. The carrier is looking to exploit its strong reputation for its network infrastructure to help drive growth beyond the Middle East. E& C&WS will target enterprise, telecom operators, and digital-first businesses with 20 advanced services across voice, data, roaming, and mobility services. The expansion will also provide additional support to its growing global partners while forging new alliances and unlocking new opportunities.

Over the last 12 months, the company has been making a series of partnerships and investments to bolster its global presence. In October 2024, e& acquired a controlling stake of 51% in PPF Telecom Group, broadening its reach to include Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia, and taking the company’s global footprint to 20 countries with operations in 38 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe. The carrier has also established strategic partnerships, most notably with Orange Wholesale International, where the two are looking to enhance IPX and 5G standalone connectivity. The company also announced several subsea partnerships, including the Gulf Gateway Cable (GGC1) connecting Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Doha (Qatar) with Qatari telecommunications provider, Ooredoo, and joining the 2Africa consortium with other leading providers including China Mobile International, Meta, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone Group, and WIOCC to build the world’s largest subsea cable project, a 45,000 km submarine cable system connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa.

While the move from e& is ambitious, the carrier could make an impact in the market, especially with US and European providers that are looking to expand into the Middle East and Africa. E& should expect to compete against other well-established providers in the market, including Vodafone Carrier Services, Deutsche Telekom T-Wholesale, and Orange Wholesale International, which have also adopted a similar focus and are further ahead in their digitization journey. E& C&WS should look to further highlight its strengths in IPX along with its international capabilities to drive growth while continuing to expand its digital product ecosystem to include services like anti-fraud and security.